Page 932 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 March 1991
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MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, again Mr Berry has asked me to recall what was happening this time one month ago. I cannot recall. It was at about that time, of course, that the matter of hospital budget blow-outs began to be alleged by the Opposition. I cannot recall what I knew on that date. I cannot tell the house at this point what it was I knew when. I am happy to indicate to Mr Berry and to the house that whenever that matter has been raised I have looked into it. That has been the appropriate response of any Minister in the same circumstances.
Mr Berry: You apologised for misleading us before.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I ask Mr Berry to withdraw that. There is a clear inference there that I am again misleading the house in some way.
Mr Berry: I said that you have apologised for misleading us before. There is nothing wrong with saying that. There is no implication that he has. Mr Speaker, I said that the Minister has apologised to this house for misleading it before. That is a matter of fact. If it offends the Minister, I will withdraw it.
High Schools
MR JENSEN: Mr Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister for Education. The ACT has a very good college system, and sometimes it has been suggested that our high schools are thought of as poor cousins to the secondary college system. I wonder whether the Minister can advise me and the rest of the Assembly what action is being taken to upgrade and improve the already high quality of our high schools.
MR HUMPHRIES: In Mr Jensen's question was the clear implication that there have been problems in our high schools. I think we can date those to the time when our secondary colleges were created in that by creating a secondary college we also created a new institution of a high school covering years 7 to 10. High schools, of course, being institutions that cater for the developmental period of adolescence, are institutions where teaching is not always an easy task. This can lead to problems of morale among high school students and their teachers.
The major emphasis, therefore, has to be on creating a high school environment which will be productive and enjoyable for students, for teachers and for parents. The development program this Government is launching will involve examination of the processes which control the operation of high schools, such as measuring performance, assessing training needs, supervision, and establishing the rights and responsibilities of teachers, students and parents in relation to the learning process.
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